I am always confused when it the word verbatim copying or word for word comes up.
What does that exactly mean

For example

The statement below:
Examining and investigating any electrical components malfunctions or electrical system/s failures, as part of the post-installation support serviceand taking the necessary action/s in order to rectify it in accordance with the authorizations provided to perform the task from the client

Is it a verbatim copy or even a copy paste of the statement below"

Investigate electrical or electronic failures

I really dont how does ot differ from normal copy paste
Advice is needed please

1 Answer
1

Hence it is also described as "word for word" (ie. the words in the copy or quotation are exactly the same as the words in the original). Nowadays, it is also known as "copy and paste" because of the editing operations in most editors/wordprocessors.

So your two examples are not verbatim copies because one is much longer than the other. A verbatim copy is the same length and contains the same words.

I would have added that an amusing slang term for text generated from other sources by copy-and-paste is copypasta but couldn't immediately find references for that word that meet the rigorous standards required by some members of this website. It is defined in such dubious sources as Wikipedia and the Urban Dictionary.
– user323578Apr 12 at 14:48

When I provide quotations, I also try to duplicate the formatting of the original as much as possible. I tend to think that verbatim implies that too—although in some cases it's not entirely possible. (But, normally, I can at least preserve things like bold, italics, superscript, and so on.) As an exception, when I quote something that contains endnote numbers, and do not also quote those endnotes, I remove those notes . . .
– Jason BassfordApr 12 at 15:32

@JasonBassford Interesting point. While I agree with the idea of preserving formatting (so much easier, now we can copy-paste) I hadn't thought of it with regard to verbatim. Obviously, it wouldn't apply in some contexts, eg. a stenographer recording the spoken word verbatim, but maybe it should imply that in general.
– user323578Apr 12 at 15:35